I love my slow cooker, it barely uses any energy and can safely be left on all day, gently cooking away. As well as meaty casseroles I also cook beans and pulses in it. My slow cooker was one of the cheapest from Argos, bought about 10 years ago. Do check the wattage on the cheaper models – mine is 160 – 190W – and works well. Less powerful models can take forever to bring the contents to a simmer, and will not give as satisfactory results.
A successful slow cooked meal is all in the preparation, most of the time you do need to prepare the ingredients, and usually give ox cheeks and vegetables a quick fry before transferring to the slow cooker. About an hour before you want to eat check the meal – if needed you can thicken the sauce in two ways – either place a heaped teaspoon of corn flour into a small bowl, add a tablespoon of liquid from the slow cooker, mix well and return. Or, prop the lid open a crack, which will allow for some reduction. by evaporation.
One trick I have recently learnt is to wrap your vegetables into a grease proof paper parcel and pop into the slow cooker with the casserole for the last hour or so of cooking.
Ox cheeks are hard working muscles – all that grazing and chewing of the cud results in a dense, coarse meat. It’s a cut, therefore, that needs slow cooking, but with some time can deliver a meltingly soft and tasty result. You will achieve equal success with stewing steak or shin of beef. We used a slow cooker, but a casserole in a very low oven would do as well.
The addition of the pickled walnuts adds another layer of flavour, some sharpness and texture. It is well worth investing in a jar.
Recipe: Slow Cooked Ox Cheeks with Red Wine & Pickled Walnuts
Ingredients
- Beef dripping or goose fat
- 2 medium onions – roughly diced
- 1 clove garlic
- 800 g Ox cheeks – cut into 3 – 4 cm chunks (or stewing steak)
- 1 glass red wine
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 1 mug beef stock
- 8 pickled walnuts
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- Slowly fry the onion and garlic in the dripping or goose fat ; when soft transfer to the slow cooker or crock pot.
- Cube the ox cheeks into bite-sized pieces and sear a few at a time, transferring to the slow cooker when browned.
- Whilst the last batch of beef is frying add a little extra fat to the frying pan – we used goose fat – and add a tablespoon of plain flour and cook for a few minutes before transferring to the slow cooker.
- Add the wine, top up with water until the top of the meat is just covered and a beef stock cube.
- Season with salt and pepper, and let the cooker come up to temperature. Once simmering, turn down to the low setting and leave to cook.
- About half an hour or so before serving, cut the pickled walnuts into eight pieces each, and add to the stew, together with a dash of the pickling vinegar.
- Finally, just before serving, check and adjust seasoning.
- We gave it 8 hours, which resulted in an unctuous and rich stew that was just right for a winter weekend supper, served with a buttery mash and some quickly wilted kale.
Sending this slow cooked dish and thus cheaply cooked dish to this month’s Credit Crunch Munch which I run with Camilla, hosted by Angela at My Golden Pear.
Also to Janice’s Slow Cooker Challenge.
Many thanks to Donald Russell for meat used and to Opies for the pickled walnuts.
Sarah, Maison Cupcake
Those look amazing! I wonder how they’d come up in the sous vide? Gah I’d just done the round up for speedy suppers, we will have to add you in.
Helen
Sorry. It has been a hectic few days.
Chloe
Would love you to share your tip of cooking vegetables in greaseproof paper!
http://www.ninegrandstudent.co.uk
Helen
Package them up and drop into the pan.
Corina
This sounds lovely – I really love my slow cooker too. I haven’t tried pickled walnuts before but I love sharp tastes so I’ll have to look out for them.
Helen
Let me know who you get on with the pickled walnuts Corina.
Kavey
I adore ox cheeks, we just did some recently, love them. I love my slow cooker but for dishes like this, given that the need to brown them in a pan that can go onto the stove top, I always end up finishing it on the stove top too. I do wish I had a slow cooker with internal pan that could take the heat of the hob too. Then it would be one pot cooking….
Helen
I had an electronic slow cooker that browned too. It would be useful to be able to put the inner on the hob, or in the oven, I melted the knob on the lid of mine.
Bintu @ Recipes From A Pantry
Helen, this one is right up my street. Except I have no idea where to get ox cheek in my neck of the woods.
Helen
Thanks Bintu.
I am a big fan of meat boxes by mail order, or I order the more unusual cuts of meat from my excellent local butcher.
laura@howtocookgoodfood
I love the idea of using both ox cheeks and pickled walnuts together in a slow cooked dish. This is the kind of dish that is made to enjoy after a busy day, when you get back home and this has been cooking for hours with no effort. Perfect!
Helen
I love the pickled walnuts. The pickling vinegar is also delicious!
Glamorous Glutton
Ox cheeks are a really tasty cut once cooked long and slow, I have to use a casserole as there really is a limit to how much kit I can fit in the kitchen! I must try this with the pickled walnuts, I bet it’s delicious. GG
Helen
Slowly does it in a casserole too.
Sylvia
I really have to buy slow cooker! It looks scrumptious!
Helen
Thanks Sylvia,
You can make it in a casserole in a slow oven. No need for a slow cooker.
Janie
Yum, love the idea of adding the pickled walnuts.
Janie x
Helen
Thanks Janie, they are a lovely ingredient!